A Matter of Judgment
by Random Flyer
Summary: One shot. Halt and Crowley have a discussion about Halt's proposal for a new apprentice. Please R&R.


**A/N: This is just a short scene I imagined would happen after reading the epilogue from The Battle of Hackham Heath and knowing the history between Halt and Will's family. Please R &R**

 **I do not own Ranger's Apprentice.**

 **A Matter of Judgment**

Halt stood on the verandah of his small cabin bathed in the afternoon sun, watching the bend in the road when Crowley came into view. Neither man was surprised to see the other, not because Crowley's visit was anticipated but because Abelard's warning of an incoming rider had rang out only a few moments ago. Halt waved a short and silent welcome to his long-time friend. Crowley returned the gesture allowing his horse, Cropper, to slow to a stop a few paces from the cabin steps. The Ranger Commandant's visit, while not expected, came as no surprise considering the message Halt had sent only a week ago.

Crowley groaned as he eased out of the saddle and started loosening buckles on Cropper's tack.

"Long ride," Halt said, a mere statement of fact and highlighting Crowley's unannounced visit.

Crowley nodded and continued tending his horse as Abelard ambled over to greet the new arrival. "Longer than I remember it being. Though it is nice to get away from Castle Araluen and out into the woods again."

"I'll get the coffee brewing," Halt said as his old friend lifted the saddle from Cropper's back.

"That would be much appreciated," Crowley settled the saddle, blanket, and halter over a rail along the verandah before turning to finish tending to his horse. He'd be staying the night, at least, maybe two.

Ten minutes later found both men sitting outside on the verandah sipping coffee. Cropper and Abelard grazed nearby, happy for each other's company. The forest shifted around them in the quiet afternoon. Halt let the silence draw out, knowing Crowley would get around to the point of the visit soon enough.

"Got your message about the potential apprentice," Crowley said without preamble, unknowingly proving Halt's point. "It's been a while since you had an apprentice."

"All the more reason to take one in again," Halt said, voice even, expression neutral. "Eventually you're going to have to retire and we'll need a replacement."

Crowley huffed a laugh. "The boy's name is Will, right? From the ward at Redmont?"

Halt nodded, knowing full well where this conversation was going.

Crowley eyed him, gaze friendly but piercing, nonetheless. "That wouldn't be the same Will you brought here after his parents were killed."

"Actually, it would be the same boy. He's shown a great deal of potential." Halt's gaze and tone remained steady, daring Crowley to continue.

A noticeable pause stretched out after the statement. Crowley watched Halt with that annoyingly knowing look the Ranger Commandant had developed in the years of running the Corps. Finally, Halt gave just a little and turned his gaze to meet his old friend's eyes.

"Is there a problem?" Halt asked, his tone deceptively mild.

"I don't know," Crowley said looking out over the view to the forest from where they sat. The slanted golden light of the late afternoon shifted through the trees and leaves. Several birds called to one another in the distance, their songs echoing through the forest and accentuating the peaceful scene. " _Is_ there a problem?"

Halt shook his head already tired of the verbal sparring and just wanting to cut to the chase. "Let's not degenerate into word games," he said, leaning forward and placing his coffee mug on the wooden floor. "What are you concerned about?"

Crowley grinned and shrugged in a self-deprecating gesture. "Too much time spent among scheming nobles at castle Araluen," he said by way of explanation, then fell to serious business, "I'm worried you're letting your sense of duty to the boy influence your recommendation."

"You think my judgement's clouded," Halt rephrased, crossing his arms over his chest and leveling a flat stare at his old friend.

Crowley waggled his head, expression twisting a moment. "Not the wording I would use, but yes." His face cleared and he looked Halt square in the eyes, one of the few men who could do so without flinching. "Look, Halt, I know you owe a debt to the boy's father… and mother, for that matter. I also know you've kept an eye on the boy over the years, made sure he stayed safe and the like. I just don't want you to take on an apprentice who could turn out to be the wrong choice for the Corps and waste years of your time training him and of the boy's life when he could be studying another trade."

Halt took a breath, forcing himself to acknowledge the valid concerns behind Crowley's comment. If it had been another craft master, even another Ranger, with the same situation Halt would have harbored similar concerns.

Crowley pressed on, leaning forward to emphasize his second point. "There's also the matter that you've already got some form of attachment to the boy. Suppose he does become your apprentice, even turns out to be a natural in this work, you're going to have to bring him into the line of fire at some point. He's going to be heading into dangerous situations, with you and eventually without you."

"I'm not going to coddle the boy, trust me," Halt said, scoffing at the very notion.

Crowley shook his head. "Maybe not coddle as such, but shield? Would you be able to send young Will into a situation you knew was dangerous, where he might get hurt?" Crowley cut off the objection before it could leave Halt's lips with a wave of his hand. "Yes, it would likely be years before that sort of thing was required, but remember how protective you became of Gilan when he was getting ready to graduate? And you didn't have half as much history with him as you do with Will."

Halt heaved out a sigh, deliberately loosening the tension that had gathered in his shoulders and forcing himself to consider Crowley's words. Yes, he did have more history with Will, right from the start. He'd watched Will grow up, from the shadows and at sometimes sparse intervals perhaps, but he still had years of seeing the boy grow and develop. That didn't even include the debt Halt still felt he owed to Will's father and mother, each of whom had saved his life.

"So what do you suggest?" Halt asked, trusting his friend to give good counsel without forcing anything.

"If you honestly think the boy should become an apprentice Ranger, we could always send him to another fief, apprentice him to a different master." Crowley sat back, and clasped his hands around his cooling mug of coffee.

The suggestion was hardly unreasonable, and had been done before, but Halt found himself shaking his head. "The boy's rootless enough as it is. He doesn't even have a family name to tie him anywhere, no history on which to rely. If we pull him away from the only home he's known…" Halt shook his head.

Crowley dipped his head in concession. If Will didn't make it through the training it would only damage the boy's future somewhere in the kingdom, or worse make him more likely to leave and take what skills he learned with him.

"I can train him," Halt said nodding to himself, earnest and determined. "I won't let our past cloud my judgment or affect my treatment of him. He'll just be another one of my apprentices, the same as Gilan."

Draining the remainder of his coffee, Crowley shrugged in acceptance. "If you say so, Halt, then I trust your judgment on this. I approve of the new apprentice. Run him through a test like all the others and if he passes you can take him in and start teaching him in the same gruff manner you treat everyone." Pushing up out of the chair, Crowley cocked a grin at Halt. "Even if you do get attached to the boy more than you should, no doubt Will won't do the same for you, not after you put him through the ringer with all those chores, training, getting him thrown off a horse…"

"Well, it won't be my job to make him like me," Halt muttered leading Crowley inside, "If you're going to stay the night the least you can do is help me make dinner."

Crowley grinned at Halt's back. Previous apprenticeship aside, he had a feeling neither Halt nor Will had any clue what they were in for over the next couple of years.

 **::The End::**


End file.
